Anita Lustrea

Nicole Unice is a force. She speaks with authority, which is something I really enjoy about her. When Nicole talks, you sit up and listen. She is a counselor, Bible teacher, and author. She also writes for a variety of publications, including Relevant, Leadership Journal, and Today’s Christian Woman. She serves as ministry director at Hope Church in Richmond, Virginia, and also speaks at retreats and leadership events around the country. Her latest book, Brave Enough, is the focus of our conversation this week on the podcast.

Nicole contends that we’re all a little scared. It might be fear of the unknown, or maybe we’re afraid of being too much or not enough. Some of us are afraid to say we’re sorry. Maybe I’ve named one of your fears; maybe it’s something completely different. How is your fear, whatever it might be, holding you back? The subtitle of Nicole’s book is getting over our fears, flaws, and failures to live BOLD and FREE. I think some of us really believe we can’t get over those things, that we’ll never be able to live bold and free. I even have the word free tattooed on my wrist. It was something I so desperately wanted, but wasn’t sure I would ever be.

Brave Enough

What is your deepest fear? What do you think you’ll never have the courage to change? On the podcast Nicole talks about not needing the courage to dive from a high cliff, but just having courage to be brave enough. In her definition, a brave-enough life is one lived fully and confidently, free from the weight of worry and the burden of trying too hard. I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of life I want.

How about being just brave enough to listen to what Nicole has to say on Faith Conversations this week and then maybe, just maybe, acting on one thing you heard.

As we develop friendships, none of us knows what we might be signing up for. We usually don’t project out the possible story lines when we first meet someone. Or if we do, they are nice rosy stories of going to concerts and picnics, of having play dates and spending holidays at each others houses. Not, I bet this person will die in a fiery crash, or I imagine my friend will be thrown into prison, or I’m sure they’ll be diagnosed with cancer.

Jill Buteyn joins me on the podcast this week and the last thing she expected when she met Kara Tippetts was a deep walk through the valley of suffering ending in the death of her dear friend. Jill is a fiction author and had no idea the non-fiction book Just Show Up would be in her future, let alone co-authored by her friend Kara. And once the idea of the book was born, introverted Jill for sure didn’t picture herself doing radio and television interviews without her extroverted friend Kara. But Kara lost her battle with cancer and Jill, in her grief, has been talking about the journey God led her on.

Most of us want to move away, pull away, when someone moves into a difficult season.  We ask ourselves if we can handle walking with them. It always seems more about us. Not that Jill didn’t ask those questions, but God gave her the courage to move toward Kara. If you are wondering how you can walk alongside someone on a tough and rutted road, you’ll hear practical thoughts on how to do it, how to be present, and when to just sit with your friend in silence.

Just Show Up

I hope you’ll listen to the podcast and read the book. It is a rich offering about the dance of walking through suffering together.

The release date of this week’s episode of Faith Conversations happens to be January 18, Martin Luther King Jr. day in the United States. I could not let this day–this week–pass without focusing on things close to the heart of MLK himself, and close to the heart of God. I look at justice as being a spiritual practice. Adele Calhoun in her book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, says that one of the ways we practice justice is by being responsible to God and others. One way I do that is to raise important issues like this on the podcast.

Mark Buchanan is featured on this week’s Conversation. He lives what he writes and speaks about. When he decided to live out the gospel on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as the pastor of a good-sized congregation, he probably didn’t fully know what it would entail. In a community, a country, plagued with significant issues surrounding First Nations peoples, what we in the United States would call Native Americans, Mark decided to lead his church on a path of no return, a path fraught with difficulty and devoid of easy answers, a path moving toward justice and reconciliation. Not everyone agreed, and some were downright bigoted as the process began.

Your Church Is Too Safe

Sometimes when I record a podcast, the conversation off air is as good as on air. I lost track of whether Mark said certain things on or off the podcast, so I’ll mention a couple of them here in case they aren’t reiterated for your hearing. Mark’s most recent book, highlighted here on the website, is Your Church is Too Safe. In it he puts forth a theology of risk. Why do we need such a theology? Because Mark Buchanan believes that current day Christians are addicted to the middle class. We don’t want to risk, don’t think we need to risk, have just enough money to send someone else to risk. There can be no by standing in the body of Christ.

By the same token, no one person is called to save the world. Jesus already did that. But we are called to live out the great commission, which includes loving our neighbor as ourselves. I was needfully offended by some of our conversation on the podcast this week. My hope is that you will be too.

Let’s link arms and move together toward justice and reconciliation.

Last week our panel talked about the role villains play and whether there is validity to being the contrarian in a conversation. It was fun having two millennials on the panel along with a 50-something and 60-something panelist. This week we keep the same panel (Anita Lustrea, Mike Murphy, John Lustrea, Wes Williams) and continue the conversation where we talk about scripture and our view of it as well as the role of doubt in our faith and if we do, indeed, struggle with doubts or faith questions, and honestly grapple with specific issues, then does our faith shift?

Our panel returns:

The answer to that question was a resounding YES. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear how we came to that conclusion and to hear how vulnerable I decided to become. My son and his friend talked about their changing faith in their 20’s. You might want to go back and listen to my podcast about Changing Faith with Michael Hidalgo where we talk about his book by the same name.

Speaking of books, one that is mentioned in this podcast is Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton. And while I don’t agree with everything he writes, it is a helpful and provocative read. Grab some friends and read it and discuss some of the chapters. That’s what my husband did with a small group, and my son did with a friend.

I think this will be my most provocative podcast so far. I’d love to hear what you think……I think. You can click on the contact tab, or email [email protected].

Happy listening!

What do we think of villains? And I don’t mean the kind that show up in superhero movies…..or do I? Do you ever consider yourself a villain?

On this week’s podcast we discuss the place of the villain. When I say discuss, I mean we have a panel in place to offer their opinions. Two of our panel members sometimes feel they are villains. How do we assign that descriptor in Christian circles, and should we? Sometimes we label a person a villain just because they hold a contrary point of view. How often in current society is that true?

Our panel this week:

Our panel takes the concept of villain and moves it into the realm of politics and faith and basically discusses what discourse should look like in the context of Christian community. You’ll find yourself nodding your head in agreement until you aren’t anymore!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the podcasts so far. We’ve made it to the 3-month mark on Faith Conversations and now we are entering into a new year. Are you benefitting from hearing the podcast? Please let me know and tell a friend about us. My email address is [email protected]. You are the podcast’s best ambassador. When a new episode releases, please share on your Facebook page and twitter account!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

I’m a sucker for a good book cover. Jessica Leep Fick’s book crossed my desk and I had to open the book and check out the content!

Beautiful Feet

I loved the old school roller skates on the cover and the idea that beautiful feet could move even more swiftly on wheels. But beyond the cover, I really liked how Jessica talked about women being unleashed to everyday witness. As Jessica says in the book and mentions on the podcast, women are more than just boobs. How can we live into our femininity and be ashamed of it? She alludes to the fact that their needs to be some healing happen in the church for this to truly happen.

One of the books Jessica mentions that really helped her with evangelism wasn’t the Bible or another Christian book. Actually, it was a business book titled, The Confidence Code. One piece of advice that she shared is that we all need to fail fast as opposed to fake it till we make it. The struggle most of us have related to evangelism is this sense of guilt attached to the responsibility. We feel like we have to do this. We have a quota of sharing our faith with X number of people each week. Jessica Leep Fick says we need a shift in our thinking. Evangelism isn’t something we have to do, but something we get to do.

She encourages us to ask the question, “What are you missing out on?” How would you live differently, or share your faith differently if you knew you were missing out on something great?

Find out more about Jessica Leep Fick at www.jessicaleepfick.com and follow her on Twitter @jessicaleepfick.

In all my years of interviewing guests, one of my favorites is Andrew Peterson. The reasons are many, but one that rises to the surface is that Andrew is a great conversationalist. He is well read, extremely thoughtful, and a great story teller, evidenced by his song writing. His latest release, which I hope you all go online to buy is The Burning Edge of Dawn.

With this particular album, Peterson entered the process differently than usual. Often he’s written songs along the way and by the time he heads to the studio he has enough songs to piece together an album. This time he entered the process with about a song and a half. We are the beneficiaries since he had no choice but to write about exactly what was happening in his life at the time. Having just come out of a long painful time, we see that reflected in the lyrics.

You’ll get to hear snippets of two songs from the project in the course of our conversation. To find out more about The Burning Edge of Dawn head to Andrew’s website: www.andrew-peterson.com.

Elisa Morgan is on a mission. She says that women struggle under the ongoing weight of “not-enough-ness.” My guess is, that if you are a woman, you already know this and have probably worked a lifetime to get out from under that burden. It is easier said than done. And the kind of “not-enough-ness” varies from woman to woman. There’s the not smart enough, not attractive enough, not fit enough, not sexy enough, not creative enough, not strong enough, and you can fill in the blank for the “not-enough-ness” that fits you.  The bottom line of it all is that we believe we are not beautiful. And, actually, it goes beyond that. We believe we are broken and we are ashamed to be so.

What I enjoyed about my conversation with Elisa is her focus beyond just seeing ourselves the way God does.  We’ve all heard that before. What was different about Elisa’s angle for the conversation was seeing our beauty the way God does. Fleshing that out into the five areas of a woman that you might not have thought about. At least not thought about in terms of God seeing beauty in them.

What is your unique voice that is played out through your personality? God sees that as beautiful. What is your unique vessel? Each of our physical bodies, whether we like it or not, is different and, I would add, right sized by God. We talk about the beauty in the creative process through the womb, whether you can bear children or not. Certainly one area we often don’t see as beautiful is the scars that we bear. Elisa thinks there is beauty in our painful history and she makes a great case for it in her book Hello Beauty full. Lastly, we take a look at our beauty that is seen through our sway, our influence. We each have an influential legacy and it’s important to take a close look at that.

Elisa deeply desires women to live life to the full. She talks about living to the brim and more! You can find out more about Elisa at www.elisamorgan.com.

For those unfamiliar with Kate McCord, you need to know that her name is a protective pseudonym. She worked in Afghanistan for nearly a decade after the fall of the Taliban as a humanitarian aid worker. Eventually she had to evacuate and is now serving in a mentoring and consulting role to other workers serving in the region.

When Kate talks about dangerous places it’s the real deal. She’s been there and experienced it. She’s grieved the loss of others and she has counted the cost. The big question we talk about on the podcast, and it’s the name of her book, is Why God Calls Us to Dangerous Places.

In North America it’s sometimes hard to put aside our cultural desires for safety, comfort and affluence for the sake of others. I talk with Kate about whether or not we should do that? we also spend time focusing on the cost and privileges of sending those we love to dangerous places. We take a look at how we can better support those friends and family members who serve God in such a place.

As we look at and hear about devastating circumstances around the globe and even in our back yard, it’s easy to buy into the mentality that we should hunker down and just wait for Jesus to return. Kate challenges us to rethink that posture and position. She isn’t saying that God’s call to dangerous places is for all of us, either. But, do we need to be open to it?

Why God Calls Us to Dangerous Places

I hope you’re up to the challenge of listening to Kate. Why God Calls Us to Dangerous Places is a challenging read. I also recommend Kate’s first book, In the Land of Blue Burqas, as well as her novel, Farewell Four Waters.

Kate is a compelling communicator and you might want to check out her website, www.storytellerkm.com, and follow her on Twitter @storytellerkm.

When I was growing up, the amazing story I heard and later read was about Nicky Cruz and David Wilkerson. The Cross and the Switchblade story was responsible for propelling many toward Christ. Certainly when I heard Nicky Cruz, in person, as a little girl, my young and naive faith was strengthened.

Dimas Salaberrios is a modern-day Nicky Cruz, and his book Street God is The Cross and the Switchblade for a new generation.

Dimas exudes Jesus from his very pores, and is a delight to talk with. You’ll hear in the podcast the infectious joy that Dimas has and you’ll want to know the full story. We barely scratch the surface on Faith Conversations, so I encourage you to read Street God cover to cover.

Dimas Salaberrios was a former drug boss who ran from the hood until the love of Jesus captured him and sent him back to the one place he didn’t really want to go. Today, Dimas is pastor of Infinity Bible Church in the South Bronx of New York City, a church he co-founded with Tim Keller. He is an international speaker as well as president of Concerts of Prayer Greater New York.

Street God

For more information you’ll want to head to www.streetgodbook.com.